AI Adding to Threat of Election Disinformation Worldwide

AI Adding to Threat of Election Disinformation Worldwide

　　Artificial intelligence (AI) is adding to the threat of election disinformation worldwide.

　　The technology makes it easy for anyone with a smartphone and an imagination to create fake – but convincing – content aimed at fooling voters.

　　Just a few years ago, fake photos, videos or audio required teams of people with time, skill and money. Now, free and low-cost generative artificial intelligence services from companies like Google and OpenAI permit people to create high-quality "deepfakes" with just a simple text entry.

　　Expanding threats

　　A wave of AI deepfakes tied to elections in Europe and Asia has already appeared on social media for months. It served as a warning for more than 50 countries having elections this year.

　　Some recent examples of AI deepfakes include:

　　— A video of Moldova's pro-Western president throwing her support behind a political party friendly to Russia.

　　— Audio of Slovakia's liberal party leader discussing changing ballots¹ and raising the price of beer.

　　— A video of an opposition² lawmaker in Bangladesh — a conservative Muslim majority nation — wearing a bikini.

　　The question is no longer whether AI deepfakes could affect elections, but how influential³ they will be, said Henry Ajder, who runs a business advisory⁴ company called Latent Space Advisory in Britain.

　　"You don't need to look far to see some people ... being clearly confused as to whether something is real or not," Ajder said.

　　Challenge to democracy

　　As the U.S. presidential race comes closer, Christopher Wray, the director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation⁵ issued a warning about the growing threat of generative AI. He said the technology makes it easy for foreign groups to attempt to have a bad influence on elections.

　　With AI deepfakes, a candidate's image can be made much worse or much better. Voters can be moved toward or away from candidates — or even to avoid the polls altogether. But perhaps the greatest threat to democracy, experts say, is that the growth of AI deepfakes could hurt the public's trust in what they see and hear.

　　The complexity⁶ of the technology makes it hard to find out who is behind AI deepfakes. Experts say governments and companies are not yet capable of stopping the problem.

　　The world's biggest tech companies recently — and voluntarily — signed an agreement to prevent AI tools from disrupting elections. For example, the company that owns Instagram and Facebook has said it will start labeling deepfakes that appear on its services.

　　But deepfakes are harder to limit on apps like Telegram, which did not sign the voluntary agreement. Telegram uses encrypted messages that can be difficult to uncover.

　　Concerns about efforts to limit AI

　　Some experts worry that efforts to limit AI deepfakes could lead to unplanned results.

　　Tim Harper is an expert at the Center for Democracy and Technology in Washington, DC. He said sometimes well-meaning governments or companies might crush the "very thin" line between political commentary and an "illegitimate attempt to smear⁷ a candidate."

　　Major generative AI services have rules to limit political disinformation. But experts say it is too easy to defeat the restrictions⁸ or use other services.

　　AI software is not the only threat.

　　Candidates themselves could try to fool voters by claiming events that show them in bad situations were manufactured by AI.

　　Lisa Reppell is a researcher at the International Foundation for Electoral Systems in Arlington, Virginia.

　　She said, "A world in which everything is suspect — and so everyone gets to choose what they believe — is also a world that's really challenging for...democracy."

　　Words in This Story

　　fake – n. not true or real

　　bikini -- n. a piece of clothing in two parts that a woman wears for swimming

　　label -- v. to use a word or phrase that describes or identifies something or someone

　　encrypted -- v. to change (information) from one form to another

　　illegitimate -- adj. not allowed according to rules or laws

　　smear -- v. to make untrue statements about someone

1 ballots   

n.投票表决( ballot的名词复数 )；选举；选票；投票总数v.（使）投票表决( ballot的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• They're counting the ballots. 他们正在计算选票。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The news of rigged ballots has rubbed off much of the shine of their election victory. 他们操纵选票的消息使他们在选举中获得的胜利大为减色。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

3 influential   

adj.有影响的，有权势的

参考例句：

• He always tries to get in with the most influential people.他总是试图巴结最有影响的人物。
• He is a very influential man in the government.他在政府中是个很有影响的人物。

4 advisory   

adj.劝告的，忠告的，顾问的，提供咨询

参考例句：

• I have worked in an advisory capacity with many hospitals.我曾在多家医院做过顾问工作。
• He was appointed to the advisory committee last month.他上个月获任命为顾问委员会委员。

5 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

6 complexity   

n.复杂(性)，复杂的事物

参考例句：

• Only now did he understand the full complexity of the problem.直到现在他才明白这一问题的全部复杂性。
• The complexity of the road map puzzled me.错综复杂的公路图把我搞糊涂了。

7 smear   

v.涂抹；诽谤，玷污；n.污点；诽谤，污蔑

参考例句：

• He has been spreading false stories in an attempt to smear us.他一直在散布谎言企图诽谤我们。
• There's a smear on your shirt.你衬衫上有个污点。

8 restrictions   

约束( restriction的名词复数 )； 管制； 制约因素； 带限制性的条件（或规则）

参考例句：

• I found the restrictions irksome. 我对那些限制感到很烦。
• a snaggle of restrictions 杂乱无章的种种限制